We should not have a government plan that will pull the plug on grandma.

Hard to believe but that's exactly the type of statement as written in the title that is being put out there by elected officials. When I first read Chucking Grassley I hoped that this sentence was taken out of some type of context that would make it not be so outrageously stupid. So I set out to find more context...

One that is the main one everyone seems to be quoting:

“In the House bill, there is counseling for end of life,” Grassley said. “You have every right to fear. You shouldn’t have counseling at the end of life, you should have done that 20 years before. Should not have a government run plan to decide when to pull the plug on grandma”

That's the quote that is making the rounds - but is that what Grassley really said?

For that we turn to....YouTube...Here's what he really said with what he's quoted as saying in bold:

There's some people that think it's a terrible problem that grandma is laying in the hospital bed with tubes in her and think there oughta be some government policy that enters in to that. I'm just on the opposite, I think that's a family and a religious and/or ethical thing that needs to be dealt with and there is some fear because in the House bill there's counseling for end of life and from that standpoint you have every right to fear, you shouldn't have counseling at the end of life you ought to have counseling twenty years before you die. You oughta plan these things out and you know I don't have any problem with things like living wills but they oughta be done within the family, we should not have a government program that determines your gonna pull the plug on grandma.



Makes a difference? You decide, but it does drive home how the media can give you the impression that they are including a full direct quote and it's not being reported the way it was stated, at least this time...It should also be pointed out that it didn't look like anyone has pointed out that what is being reported as being said was not what was really said in full. I was taught that when you take words out of a quote you are suppose to indicate that.